Sidi Ifni is my hometown，which is an ancient West African town．It sits on the coast of Morocco．Here，near the bone-dry Sahara Desert，there never seems to be enough water to go around．For many women and girls in my hometown，carrying water from distant wells has become a day-long chore．
However，half the year，water surrounds my hometown．There's just one big problem：it's locked into heavy fog．But imagine catching that water，the way spider webs get water drops in the fog．In fact，people in my hometown have figured out how to do just that．Some have set up tall nets high above dusty-dry villages．Fog condenses onto the nets，and then runs into tanks．
Still，fog-catching is far from perfect．The nets need wind to push the fog into them，so the nets must be vertical．And that means they can get blown over．Plus，they work only when the fog is very heavy．
Luckily，a scientist named Catarina Esteves came to help．Esteves grew up on the coast of Portugal．There she lived near the sea．Indeed，she used to regularly hang out at the beach．In college，she started out studying chemistry．However，with time going by，she changed her focus to materials science，which combines engineering with chemistry．After earning her PhD，she became a researcher and teacher at Eindhoven．
This researcher likes the fact that she can use materials engineering to solve real-world problems．Eventually，the team led by her produced a fabric （織物） with remarkable moisture-capturing prop-erties （水分捕捉性能）．When Esteves heard about the idea of fog-catching，she thought，"What if we were able to use this fabric to draw water from fog？"This fabric could take in water when the air is cool and misty，and then release it as that fog gives way to hot，sunny skies．
Right now，her team's smart fabric is still in the experimental phase．And people in my town can't wait to use it．

（1）What problem do people in the author's hometown face？

B

B

A．Being often troubled by fog．
B．Lacking water all year round．
C．Having no natural water resources at all．
D．Having too much chore for women and girls．
（2）What does the underlined word"that"in Paragraph 2 refer to？

C

C

A．Using tanks to collect water．
B．Collecting water from spider webs．
C．Catching water from fog using nets．
D．Making use of dense fog in various ways．
（3）What does the author want to show in Paragraph 3？

D

D

A．The villagers there need more water．
B．The villagers aren't really that smart
C．Catching water from fog isn't a good idea．
D．The way to catch water from fog needs to be improved．
（4）What did Catarina Esteves want to do after hearing about fog-catching？

C

C

A．To change her focus to materials science．
B．To solve the problem of a lack of water worldwide．
C．To experiment with the fabric her team produced in fog-catching．
D．To create a fabric with remarkable moisture-capturing properties．